The Life of Our Holy Father Maximus the Confessor: Based on the Life by His Disciple Anastasius the Apocrisiarios of Rome

Translated by Father Christopher Birchall

“From the life of Saint Maximus we see most clearly that Orthodoxy lies in a true and steadfast confession of the Faith. Those who depart from this confession depart also from Orthodoxy despite the fact that they may have the political support of secular governments or call themselves Orthodox, despite their affiliation with historic ecclesiastical sees or their alleged tribute to their Orthodox heritage, despite their national descent or the various motivations which they might put forward to justify such a compromise and such a departure from the canon of Orthodoxy. We may consider each of these and draw parallels from the incidents related in the life of Saint Maximus the Confessor; for indeed, many of the accusations made against the Saint are tho same as those that are now being leveled at Orthodox Christians who are not of an ecumenical turn of mind.”—“INTRODUCTION”

CONTENTS

FOREWORDINTRODUCTIONThe Life of Our Holy Father Maximus the Confessor Based on the Life by His Disciple Anastasius the Apocrisiarios of RomeEPILOGUE The Seat of Moses—Its Powers and PerilsA CHRONOLOGY OF THE MONOTHELITE CONTROVERSYMAPS Cities and provinces mentioned in the life of Saint Maximus A detail of the city of Constantinople and its environs